The Frugal Ghormeh

Happy Tanksgiving, folks.

Plenty of you will be gathering with your families on this turkey day. Others, meanwhile, will be going solo looking for a bite to eat. In the last few years I've fallen in the latter category, living on my own as I have and away from the brethren. Last year I picked up a plate Whole Foods, and in another time I braved a blizzard in Chicago (without a car) to have an all-you-can eat Thanksgiving buffet special at Rezas Restaurant.

They don't usually serve mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, if you didn't know. I thought it was cool that a Persian place served up such a meal. But then I saw something cooler in SoCal when I saw a full-fledged Persian eatery in a mall food court. I've seen some places serve 'mediteranean dishes', but only Charlie Kabab can give you an authentic bowl of asheh reshteh, and a big plate of ghormeh sabzi or gheymeh. It's the only place I'd ever eat at if I was stuck in a mall, like at the Vestside Pavillion, since American fast food is so toxic.

I was disappointed to hear that their location in Irvine at the Spectrum is closing, due to the recession. So it's not a very good Thanksgiving for Charlie's brown kabobs. However that might be a blessing in disguise for us patrons, since it's clear from waistlines and waste that we need to cut back on our processed meat consumption these days.